Hyderabad :
It is that time of the year again when all roads in the city lead to The Times Hyderabad Festival. After its roaring success last year, the cultural carnival is back this winter with a power-packed week of entertainment, complete with upbeat musical concerts, scintillating stage shows and a mouth-wateringly delicious cooking fiesta. And coming to town to take Hyderabadis on this titillating journey, which kickstarts on Sunday, are some of the finest names from the world of music and performing arts in the country.
Giving a heady start to the festival on December 2 will be the much-popular fusion band ‘Colonial Cousins’ featuring musical geniuses Hariharan and Leslie Lewis who have been creating waves the world over for more than a decade now. The duo will perform with the historic Quli Qutub Shahi Tombs in the backdrop. Day 2 of the event (December 3) will see the cast of Lillete Dubey’s English play August Osage County take centrestage at the Shilpakala Vedika. The Pulitzer Prize winning act, featuring Kitu Gidwani and Sandhya Mridul among a host of others including Dubey herself, have opened to packed houses at various locations since its inception and has been lauded for its sardonic humour element.
The theatrical experience will continue on December 4 with Shabhana Azmi’s Kaifi Aur Main that will bring together the celebrated artist and her acclaimed lyricist husband Javed Akhtar on the same manch, again at the Shilpakala Vedika. The narrative of the play that apart from mapping the poetic expedition of the renowned Urdu writer Kaifi Azmi also encompasses the soulful romance between him and his wife Shaukat Azmi, a noted theatre and film actress, is written by Akhtar and premiered in Mumbai in 2006.
There on, the musical journey will resume with some powerful rock, folk and Bollywood performances. Delhi-based ‘Parikrama’, the band known for its original tracks like Till I’m No-One Again and Tears of the Wizard will open the show at the Quli Qutub Shahi Tombs on December 5 and will be followed by Ghazi Khan and Raghu Dixit the next day (December 6). The two stalwarts, who have kept the flag of folk music flying high, will be seen weaving together a perfect evening for music connoisseurs from the city. At Rock Heights on December 7, the band ‘Euphoria’ will make an appearance to belt out some its catchy and hugely popular numbers like Dhoom Pichak Dhoom, Ab Naa Jaa and Aana Meri Gully among many others. The cultural bonanza will draw to a close on December 8 in perfect Bollywood style with a melodious performance by the Mitwa singer Shafqat Amanat Ali , at the Quli Qutub Shahi Tombs.
Alongside the concerts, the Times Festival will also play host to an array of cooking events beginning December 3 at ITC Kakatiya’s Kebabs & Kurries. Top chefs here will dish out lessons in North Indian food. This will be followed by a quick tip or two on Hyderabadi cuisine at The Golkonda on December 4. Those willing to try their hands at Italian cooking can walk in to Via Milano on December 5. For lessons on whipping up a scrumptious Indian meal, denizens need to look out for the culinary class scheduled for December 7, set to be held at Aish by The Park.
Readers can collect complimentary passes for these events from the Times of India office, Road No. 3, Banjara Hills on a first-come-first serve basis between 10am and 6pm.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / December 02nd, 2012